wisdom om god - cbccharlotte.comcbccharlotte.com/media/57547de3990ce.pdf · 1 david and goliath ......

God’s Word for ALL Generations

Forever, O LORD, Your word is sett led in heaven.

Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You

established the earth, and it abides.—Psalm 119:89–90

Student Guide

2Year Adult • Quarter 2

Wisdom isdom from God

Answers Bible Curriculum

Year 2 • Quarter 2 • Adult Student

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ContentsIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

1 David and Goliath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Prepare to Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8Studying God’s Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Who Killed Goliath? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11God’s Word in the Real World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Prayer Requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

2 God’s Promise to David . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Prepare to Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Studying God’s Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Scripture Interprets Scripture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19God’s Word in the Real World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Prayer Requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

3 David Disobeys God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23Prepare to Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Studying God’s Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Sin’s Progression. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27God’s Word in the Real World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Prayer Requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

4 Praises to God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Prepare to Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Studying God’s Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Sampling the Psalms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36God’s Word in the Real World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Prayer Requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

5 Solomon Becomes King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39Prepare to Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Studying God’s Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43True Wisdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44God’s Word in the Real World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Prayer Requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

6 Parallel Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Prepare to Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Studying God’s Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Sorting It Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50God’s Word in the Real World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Prayer Requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

7 Solomon Builds God’s Temple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53Prepare to Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Studying God’s Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57The Temple Today. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58God’s Word in the Real World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Prayer Requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

8 Wisdom from God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Prepare to Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Pop Quiz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65Studying God’s Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65Mining for Truth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66God’s Word in the Real World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66Prayer Requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

9 The Kingdom is Divided . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67Prepare to Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68Studying God’s Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Object Lessons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71God’s Word in the Real World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72Prayer Requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

10 God Sends Jonah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75Prepare to Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Studying God’s Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Making Accommodations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80God’s Word in the Real World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Prayer Requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

11 God Uses Elijah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83Prepare to Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84Studying God’s Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87A Jealous God. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88God’s Word in the Real World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Prayer Requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

12 God Calls Elisha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91Prepare to Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92Studying God’s Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95Fully Cleansed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95God’s Word in the Real World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Year 2 • Quarter 2 • Adult Introduction • 5

Introduction

How often it seems that a great spiritual victory is followed by a spiritual defeat. Moses led the Israelites from Egypt with mighty wonders, but then was forbidden from entering the Promised Land due to his disobedience. The Israelites overthrew Jericho only to be defeated at Ai. And King David enjoyed many military victories over the surrounding nations only to be spriritually defeated by his lust for Bathsheba.

Over the next 13 weeks we will read about and study many people from the Old Testament—David, Solomon, Jonah, Elijah, Elisha, and others. We will read about great victories and great defeats. And we will see, once again, that God is holy and just, but also merciful and gracious. He promises blessings for obedience, and punishment for disobedience.

We are not unlike these Old Testament figures. We, too, are frail, fallen humans. We, too, experience both victories and defeats. And we, too, depend on God’s mercy and grace. However, we are unlike these men in one imporant aspect: we live AFTER the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. If we have trusted Christ, we are indwelt by God’s Holy Spirit and have a new nature—one that is being renewed into the image of Christ. And, we have God’s complete revelation—the Bible.

We pray that these lessons will not only advance your knowledge of biblical history, but serve as warnings and encouragements in your walk with Christ.

We encourage you to read the Prepare to Learn section before class each week. This will provide important background information so that you will get more from each lesson.

For more information and links to online articles and videos, be sure to visit the Online Resource Page at www.AnswersBibleCurriculum.com.

Answers Bible Curriculum • Copyright © 2013 Answers in Genesis • All rights reserved.

Year 2 • Quarter 2 • Adult Lesson 1 • 7

1David and GoliathKey Passages• 1 Samuel 17; Hebrews 11:32–34

What You Will Learn• How David’s faith contrasts with the fear

of the Israelite soldiers.

• David’s source of confidence in battle.

Lesson OverviewThe Philistine Goliath’s challenge caused fear among Saul’s entire army. But David wasn’t afraid. His faith in Israel’s mighty God led him to fight Goliath. God’s name was glori-fied when David defeated the giant with just one stone.

Memory Verse2 Samuel 7:22

Therefore You are great, O Lord God. For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.


8 • Lesson 1 Year2 • Quarter 2 • Adult

PREPARE TO SHARE

Prepare to LearnScriptural Background

God gave David the gift of faith and used him in a mighty way to accomplish His perfect plans. David had been chosen by God to take the throne of Israel after Saul had failed to lead Israel in a God-honoring way (1 Samuel 15:10–26). Samuel had anointed David in the presence of his father, Jesse, and his older brothers, and David was now the king in wait-ing (1 Samuel 16:11–13).

From the time of David’s anointing, the Spirit of the Lord was with him (1 Samuel 16:13). But the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul (1 Samuel 16:14). God had rejected Saul and set His favor on David from whom the promised Messiah would come to reign forever. In His wisdom, God had sent a distress-ing spirit to harass Saul, and David was brought in to Saul’s palace to play for him (1 Samuel 16:23). When David played his harp, the distressing spirit left Saul, and he was refreshed. David became a part of Saul’s household and was made his armor-bearer.

Although Saul loved David greatly at the beginning (1 Samuel 16:21), he soon became envious and despised the talented, coura-geous, godly young man. Saul’s jealousy toward David began in the account we are studying today—the account of David’s

defeat over Goliath, the Philistine from Gath (1 Samuel 17:23).

How is it that the shepherd David, the youngest of the sons of Jesse, would be the one used by God to display trust, courage, and faith? The entire army of Israel was not able to exhibit this degree of valor against its enemy (1 Samuel 17:24). The Israelite soldiers had no courage because their confi-dence was not in the omnipotent God of Israel. Yet David, unarmed and unprepared for battle, volun-teered to go and fight the one who would dare to defy the army of the living God (1 Samuel 17:36).

And on he went—armed with trust in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel (1 Samuel 17:45). David’s faith was in his God, not in sword and spear. His purpose was not glory and honor for himself but a desire to display that God’s power alone can save (1 Samuel 17:47).

As mentioned earlier, when Samuel anointed David as king, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. The Spirit gave David the strength, courage, confidence, and trust to continue in the name of the Lord to defend Israel against its enemies. His conquests made in the name of his sovereign and all-powerful God brought him honor among the people (1 Samuel 18:5–7). This increasing popular-ity provoked Saul’s jealousy and hatred. Saul became consumed



with this vendetta and sought to kill David on multiple occasions over many years. David roamed about the region with a band of valiant men and even spared the life of Saul on two occasions, acknowledging that because Saul was the Lord’s anointed he must respect him as his authority for the time (1 Samuel 24:6, 26:11).

Throughout history we see God using imperfect people to accomplish His plans. While the entire Israelite army feared one Philistine giant, a God-fearing young man came forward to kill the enemy. From the line of this young man David would come the Messiah (Jesus Christ) to pro-vide forgiveness, mercy, and grace to sinners—and the promise of eternal life.

HiStorical/apologeticS Background

Even though David was the youngest son of Jesse, he was no pipsqueak. The common depic-tions of David and Goliath in Sunday school materials, color-ing books, animated movies, and even paintings is of a small boy facing a giant man. While this makes for a good “story,” this is not what the Bible presents. In 1 Samuel 16:18 we have a descrip-tion of David:

Then one of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse

the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him.”

This description paints David as a valiant young man quite capable of fighting, and this was some time before his encounter with Goliath.

Another point often raised is the description of David trying to wear Saul’s armor. We know that Saul was a head taller than the normal Israelite (1 Samuel 9:2). Many people assume that David refused to wear Saul’s armor into battle because it was much too big for him (1 Samuel 17:38–39). Looking carefully at the text, however, David said that he had not “tested” the armor—he was not comfortable fighting in gear he had not trained in. Also, Saul would not suggest David wear his armor if it was much too big for him. To do so would put David at a disadvantage. We need to purge the little-boy image and have a biblical perspective of the young man, David.

Although David was no flea of a man, he might have appeared so next to Goliath. This warrior from Gath was probably a descen-dant of the giants who caused the 10 spies to be fearful of entering the Promised Land. Like those spies, the warriors of Israel did not



trust God to fight for them, and they stood in fear of a mere man. The details of Goliath are indeed impressive—he stood 9’-9” tall, his coat of mail weighed 125 lbs., and his spearhead weighed 15 lbs. There was not a man among the Israelites in his own strength who could defeat Goliath.

Over the years, many falsi-fied photos have circulated show-ing giant skeletons being exca-vated around the world. Unfortu-nately, some well-meaning Chris-tians have used these to “prove” that someone as tall as Goliath

could have lived in the Middle East. We must remember that we can trust God’s Word to record the height of this man accurately, and we should not start with outside sources to demonstrate the Bible’s trustworthiness. If these archaeo-logical finds (were they even real) could prove the Bible to be true, then we’d no longer be looking to the Bible as the authority. We must always look to Scripture as our ultimate authority.

For more information on this topic, see the Online Resource Page.



STUDYING THE WORD

Studying God’s WordWho killed Goliath?

ACTIVITY–ADULT

Who Killed Goliath?Th e story of David and Goliath is familiar to many, but few actually know the true account of the events. Answer the following questions without any aids, and don’t change your answers once they are recorded.

1. Who killed Goliath?

2. Who was leading the Israelite army?

3. How old was David during this battle?

4. Why didn’t David wear any armor?



5. What weapon did David take into battle? Draw a picture of that weapon.

6. What weapon was used to kill Goliath?

7. What was Goliath’s challenge to the Israelites?

8. Who is the hero of this section of Scripture?

9. What is the most important message of this passage of Scripture?

10. What other details do you recall about the passage?



Take notes as you study the following passages.

1 Samuel 17:1–16

1 Samuel 17:17–58

Hebrews 11:32–34

APPLY THE WORD

God’s Word in the Real World1. What do we learn from David about placing our faith in God?



2. In what way have you seen the importance of looking carefully at the biblical text as we studied this passage today?

3. Which of the characters in this account do you most identify with?

4. What is the difference between looking at this passage the way we have done today and using David as an example of a brave person who we can try to emulate?

GROUP PRAYER TIME

Prayer Requests



2God’s Promise to DavidKey Passages• 2 Samuel 7:1–29; Isaiah 9:6–7; Luke 1:30–33

What You Will Learn• How God delivered the message of promise

to David.

• How the promise given to David connects to the kingship of Jesus.

Lesson OverviewDavid received a promise from the Lord that through his seed his throne would be established forever. That prom-ise pointed to David’s heir—the Messiah, Jesus Christ.





PREPARE TO SHARE


Israel had been chosen by God to be a special nation for His glory. Despite Israel’s con-stant complaining against Him, God fulfilled His promise to Abra-ham (Genesis 15:4–7), and after Moses’s death, Joshua finally led the nation of Israel to inhabit the Promised Land (Joshua 3:17)—almost 500 years after God’s promise to Abraham.

In their desire to be like the neighboring nations, the Israel-ites rejected God as King and demanded a man-king to rule them (1 Samuel 8:4–5). God gave them Saul to satisfy their lusts, but Saul failed to obey God. God then chose David to replace Saul as king. David waited for years to take the throne God had granted to him. The account of David and Goliath discussed last week occurred during this period of waiting (1 Samuel 17).

God granted David his king-ship after King Saul died. The Lord directed David to take the kingship of Judah, the southern part of the Promised Land, and to establish his capital in Hebron (2 Samuel 2:1–4). This is where David was officially anointed king. However, one of Saul’s sons, Ishbosheth, was set up by Abner, the com-mander of the army, as king over Israel. Because of this opposition, tension prevailed between Judah,

under the leadership of David, and Israel, under the leadership of Ish-bosheth (2 Samuel 2:8–11). This conflict ended when Ishbosheth was murdered (2 Samuel 4:6–7) and David became king over all of Israel (2 Samuel 5:1–5), just as God had promised to David when he was young (1 Samuel 16:1).

David eventually moved his capital to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:7). Through blessings and bat-tles, “David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted His kingdom for the sake of His people Israel” (2 Samuel 5:12). And soon David brought the Ark of God to Jerusalem with great jubilance (2 Samuel 6:2). All the people celebrated with dancing, singing, and offering sacrifices to God (2 Samuel 6:4–5, 6:13). God had proven faithful to His prom-ises, and David was firmly estab-lished as king in Israel where he ruled 40 years.

The Ark of God had been kept in the tent until this time, and David desired to honor God by building a house for the Ark (2 Samuel 7:1–3). While David planned this house for God, Nathan the prophet, who played an important role in David’s life, received a vision from God. It was a message of hope for David and a source of encouragement for him. God reminded David of his humble beginnings as a shepherd



and of God’s sovereign choice to make him king over Israel.

Although David desired to build a house for God, it was God who promised to build a house for David. In His abundant good-ness, God revealed to David that his heir would build the Temple and that David’s throne would be established forever. This promise of an enduring throne for David is carried throughout the Old Tes-tament and points, in an ultimate way, to the Savior who would come (2 Samuel 7:8–17).

This news humbled, over-whelmed, and prompted David to worship God before the Ark, extol-ling His attributes and offering thanks for His goodness (2 Samuel 7:18–19). We know that God was faithful to His promises to David. David’s house would continue for-ever, just as God had spoken. That promise has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Son of David, our Lord and Savior, who still rules over God’s people. We can be sure that this same God who was faithful to the promises made to David will be faithful to us as we put our trust in Him.

Another aspect we don’t want to miss is that David is a type of Christ—his life looked forward to the life and person of Christ. We see certain similari-ties between David and Christ. David was a shepherd; Jesus is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11). David was a king; Christ is the King of kings (Revelation 19:16). David subdued his enemies and

consolidated a kingdom; Christ is also subduing His enemies and consolidating His Kingdom (1 Cor-inthians 15:24–26). David offered a sacrifice on Mount Moriah to save Israel, acting as a priest (1 Chronicles 21:18–30; 2 Chron-icles 3:1); Jesus Christ, the per-fect High Priest, offered Himself as a sacrifice on that same mount (Hebrews 7:27). David was also a prophet (2 Samuel 23:2; Acts 2:29–31); Christ was the Prophet (Luke 13:33; Matthew 13:57). As David served as a prophet, priest, and king, Christ is our Prophet, Priest, and King.


Throughout the history of Israel, the Messiah was expected to come from the line of David and take his throne. Scripture revealed early on that the throne of David would one day be occu-pied by Jesus who would be cru-cified as the King of the Jews but rise again to be seated at the right hand of the Father.

In the book of Genesis, the blessing Jacob pronounced over Judah referred to the Messiah who would come through the tribe of Judah, from which David also descended (Genesis 49:10). Isaiah prophesied the same—the Messiah would come from the line of David.

For unto us a Child is born,Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder.



And His name will be called Wonderful, Coun-selor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time for-ward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6–9)

When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce the coming of the Christ child, he repeated to her the promise given to David in 2 Samuel 7:12.

Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of

His kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:30–33)

This truth is also verified in Scripture through the genealogy recorded in Matthew. Matthew begins his writing by identifying Jesus as “the Son of David, the Son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1). He then shows the line from Abraham in three sets of 14 generations, from Abraham to David, from David to the captivity, and from the captiv-ity to Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus (Matthew 1:1–17).

And in the Gospel of Luke, we see that through the line of His mother, Mary, Jesus is in the line of David (Luke 3:31).

Oh the wonders and the mys-teries of our sovereign God who revealed in the book of Genesis that one from Judah’s line would reign forever, and later told David that his descendant would sit upon his throne forever. And God was faithful to fulfill that promise in the birth, life, death, and Resur-rection of Jesus, the Son of David. We can’t help but marvel at God’s wisdom and control over the uni-verse and the care that He took to leave us such a detailed record confirming Jesus as the ultimate Redeemer and King.




STUDYING THE WORD

Studying God’s WordHow faithful is God?

Take notes as you study the following passage.

2 Samuel 7:1–17

ACTIVITY–ADULT

Scripture Interprets ScriptureIn this activity, you are going to be using the cross-references in your Bible to help you identify other passages of Scripture that are connected to or quote from 2 Samuel 7. Using other passages of Scripture, we can be sure that the ideas we are formulating are coming from the text and not from our own ideas. We are trying to use Scripture to understand verse 13.

Can you think of any passages or concepts from Scripture that tie to the idea of David’s throne being eternal or of someone sitting on a throne eternally? Record them here.



Find the cross-references in your Bible that correspond to 2 Samuel 7:13. Record them here with a short summary of how they connect to verse 13.

Find the cross-references in your Bible that correspond to 2 Samuel 7:14. Record them here with a short summary of how they connect to verse 14.

Passage 1:

Passage 2:

Passage 3:

Take notes as you study the following passage.

2 Samuel 7:18–29



APPLY THE WORD

God’s Word in the Real World1. How can you use the tools in your Bible to understand God’s

Word better?

2. What have you learned or had confirmed about God as we studied this passage?

3. Knowing that God the Father has made His Son, Jesus, the King to rule forever, how should each of us respond to our King?

4. How has looking at these passages in a chronological fashion helped you understand the Bible or God and His promises?



GROUP PRAYER TIME

Prayer Requests



3David Disobeys God

Key Passages• 2 Samuel 11:1–17, 12:1–25; Psalm 51

What You Will Learn• The steps that led to David’s descent

into sin.

• How God responded to David’s sin.

Lesson OverviewDavid chose his way over God’s law when he gave in to greed and lust. Convicted by a simple parable delivered by the prophet Nathan, David cried out to God in repentance, and God in His mercy forgave him.





PREPARE TO SHARE


God had made David king over Israel and promised that his throne would be an enduring one that would one day lead to the Savior who would redeem sinners (2 Samuel 7:8–17). But David’s life was about to change. And as we move further into 2 Samuel and David’s life, we witness the reality that the human heart, if left to itself, will always fall into the lust of the flesh and the ways of the world (Galatians 5:17). Many find it difficult to think of David as a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22) while reading the account in 2 Samuel of his fall from grace into serious and deadly moral failure.

Throughout this account of adultery, deceit, and murder, God gives a glimpse into our hearts and His grace. David’s descent began when he shirked his kingly duty as leader and chose to stay behind while he sent his army off to war against the Ammonites (2 Samuel 11:1). This first offense brought about the occasion that led to lusting after the woman Bathsheba from the roof of his palace (2 Samuel 11:2). He was completely enticed by his own fleshly desires and pursued the woman who was the wife of one of his trusted soldiers. David’s sinful manipulation and misuse of her resulted in a baby being conceived (2 Samuel 11:4–5).

We can only imagine what raced through David’s mind upon hearing that news! Fearful of being found out, we do know that his immediate reaction was to cover up his sexual sin, and he again used his influence to manipulate the circumstances he found him-self in. He ordered Uriah, Bath-sheba’s husband, back from war so that he would sleep with his wife so it would appear the child was Uriah’s (2 Samuel 11:6–10). After this attempt failed, David got Uriah drunk in the hopes that drunkenness would break Uri-ah’s resolve not to lie with his wife (2 Samuel 11:12–13). Again, Uriah foiled David’s plan, and in desperation, David ordered that Uriah be placed to the front of battle and abandoned there to die (2 Samuel 11:15). After mourning her husband’s death, Bathsheba moved into the palace, became one of David’s many wives, and bore a son (2 Samuel 11:26–27).

It seemed as though David would get away with his sin against God. And yet, the thing that David had done displeased the Lord (2 Samuel 11:27). And in His displeasure, God acted severely but mercifully to David. Through His prophet Nathan, God convicted David—not through thundering condemnation but through a parable of a rich man who took a poor man’s pet lamb for dinner (2 Samuel 12:1–4).



David reacted indignantly toward this story—incensed at the idea that a rich man with many flocks would steal the only sheep of a poor man. In fact, David demanded that this rich man should die for his unjust behav-ior (2 Samuel 12:5). This indigna-tion turned quickly to repentance when Nathan proclaimed, “You are the man!” (2 Samuel 12:7).

David thought he had con-cealed his sin from public expo-sure, but God would not let David’s sin go undetected. And through the prophet Nathan, God called David to sincere repen-tance. God showed grace and mercy through the message of Nathan—grace to reveal that David’s sin could not be con-cealed and mercy that allowed David to continue to live, sure of God’s forgiveness.

Psalm 51 gives a closer look at David’s repentance and God’s forgiveness. David cried out for mercy, begging to be washed, forgiven, and restored to the joy of His salvation. Because God is faithful to forgive, He cleansed David of the guilt of his sin. But David’s sin had to be judged. And God accomplished that when He justly atoned for all the sins of every believer through Jesus Christ who presented His life as the per-fect sacrifice for sin once for all (Hebrews 10:10–12).

One lesson to be learned from this account of man’s deceit and God’s forgiveness is that sin rarely happens in a moment, but follows

a certain progression. Like David, we are tempted by our own lusts and drawn away by our desires. Then desire gives birth to sin, and sin finally brings forth death (James 1:13–15).

In the end, this account with all of its sordid details gives us great hope. We, too, are sin-ners with hearts that seek our own pleasures. But God will not allow us to conceal the sin. If we are children of God, He will gra-ciously reveal our sin, bring us to repentance, and forgive us through the Redeemer and Savior who died in our place.


There should be no doubt in our minds that David’s string of sins was truly heinous—lust, adul-tery, deceit, murder. But we can be assured that God has forgiven him of those sins in Christ. David offered a sincere prayer of repen-tance in Psalm 51, and he trusted that God would cleanse him from sin. Although David did not know the name of Jesus, he could look forward to the Messiah, who would come through his lineage, to take away the sin he had com-mitted. In fact, many of the psalms that David wrote have clear messi-anic language. Jesus quoted from Psalm 22 on the Cross, and we see the fulfillment of its prophetic por-tion in those who mocked Jesus while He was hanging there in our place (Matthew 27).



Even though David had been cleared of the guilt of his sin and faced no eternal condemnation (Romans 8:1–2; 1 John 4:17–19), he still had to face tempo-ral consequences for his sin. God announced through Nathan that David’s first child with Bathsheba would die, that David’s house would be plagued by violence, and that his wives would be vio-lated in the full view of Israel. All of these consequences related to the sins David had committed. Like David, we can go to God for forgiveness of our sins, and He will freely forgive us (1 John 1:8–10). We are assured that there is

no eternal condemnation because our lives have been hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). Yet, we can expect to receive dis-cipline for our sins because the heavenly Father chastens His chil-dren (Hebrews 12:5–6).

In spite of the momentary con-sequences brought on by sin, we can be sure that God’s forgive-ness of our sins will lead to eter-nal life through Jesus Christ. For this we can praise the Creator and Redeemer forever and ever.




STUDYING THE WORD

Studying God’s WordWhat does the descent into sin look like?

ACTIVITY–ADULT

Sin’s ProgressionDavid is described as a man after God’s own heart, yet his life is marked with episodes of sin—several of them very deplorable. In the book of James, God gives us a clear pattern of the slippery slope into sin.

1. Read James 1:12–15 and write down the steps in the progression of sin:

2. According to this passage, where does temptation come from?



3. Now read 2 Samuel 11 and try to identify these elements in the account of King David.

4. Think about a sin that you are prone to commit (lying, gossiping, overeating, lustful thoughts, etc.). Can you identify a pattern in your slide into sin that fits these three steps from James 1?

5. How could understanding this pattern help you to overcome this sin as you cooperate with the Holy Spirit to put this sin to death?




2 Samuel 12:1–25

Psalm 51

APPLY THE WORD

God’s Word in the Real World1. How could using a parable or a parallel example help you to

approach another believer to confront him or her about a sin (Galatians 6:1)?

2. How does knowing that there is a progression of sin from temptation to action to death help you to battle the sin that is in your own heart?



3. How can you use Psalm 51 as a model for repenting when you sin?

4. Many people in the church believe that they need to seek “professional” help for dealing with sin in their lives. They look to secular psychology rather than trusting in the sufficiency of Scripture. How has the passage in James about diagnosing sin helped you to appreciate the sufficiency of Scripture more?

5. What would we have missed if we had read through this account and concluded our lesson with: “The moral of the story is, ‘Don’t commit adultery and murder or bad things will happen in your life’”?

GROUP PRAYER TIME

Prayer Requests



Lesson OverviewThe book of Psalms is a collection of praises to our God. It gives us many, many reasons and ways to praise God, thank Him, and worship Him.



4Praises to God

Key Passages• Psalm 150; Psalm 136; Psalm 43

What You Will Learn• Examples of different types of psalms



PREPARE TO SHARE


Psalms is a book of prayers and hymns meant to draw our attention from ourselves and to our mighty God. The beautiful poetic structure of the psalms allows their impact to be felt across the language barrier. Rather than the rhyming struc-ture we are so familiar with in the West, these poems are writ-ten with structural elements that often occur in couplets that com-pare or contrast ideas. This is called parallelism since the ideas run parallel to one another.

One example of this occurs in Psalm 106, which is a psalm of thanksgiving. Verse 2 declares, “Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord?” This statement is fol-lowed by “Who can declare all His praise?” Notice that the same idea is repeated in the couplet. Another couplet can be observed in Psalm 106:4, where the psalm-ist is calling God to remember him. Psalm 106:5, 106:6, and 106:7 all illustrate triplets—the idea in each verse is restated three times. As you study the psalms, you will notice some of the parallels will be opposites of one another.

Through all of the poetic lan-guage, the psalms are meant to offer praise to God. The psalms teach us how to worship God with our words. The psalms made

up the “hymnbook” for Jews. To the Jews, the title simply meant “praises,” and that is what the psalms were used for—songs of praise. Most of the psalms empha-size man’s position before the infallible, incomprehensible, holy God. This sets God in His rightful place—as Ruler over the affairs of the world and all mankind. As the psalmist speaks, God is exalted and His attributes are set before us like a magnificent banquet that we can feast on to feed our souls.

God’s sovereignty is constantly affirmed by the psalmists as they offer Him thanks and praise, as they cry out to Him for help, or as they boldly claim their confi-dence in what He will do in the future. The psalms have been clas-sified into various groupings, but the lesson today will look at three common types of psalms in three particular chapters: Psalm 150—singing praises, Psalm 136—giving thanks, and Psalm 43—lamenting or crying out for help.

Psalm 150 is the final psalm in the book of Psalms and ends a series of psalms dedicated to praising the sovereign creator God (Psalms 146–150). Psalm 150 shouts that all things should praise the Lord. It lists where to praise Him—in His sanctuary and in the firmament. This gives the impres-sion that all of heaven (firmament) and earth (sanctuary) should praise the Lord. We praise Him for



His mighty acts, for His excellent greatness, and with music, song, and dance (Psalm 150:3–4). The psalmist then declares that every-thing that has breath should praise the Lord! This is a fitting end to a book of songs and hymns to the almighty God. God’s honor and majesty have been presented throughout this book, and consid-ering the wonder of who He is, we are moved to burst forth in praises to Him with the psalmist, who ends the Psalm, “Praise the Lord!”

Undoubtedly, Psalm 136 is a psalm of thanksgiving to God for His enduring mercy. This is made clear with the common refrain in verses 1, 2, 3, and 26—“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” The psalmist rejoices at God’s care as he is reminded of God as Creator and as Deliverer of the Israelites from their bondage in Egypt. In fact, the repeated refrain, “His mercy endures forever,” may have been spoken by the people in responsive worship. We, too, ought to give thanks to God for delivering us from our bondage to sin through Christ’s work on the Cross! For those who are in Christ, His mercy truly endures forever.

The Bible tells of men who praised and honored God with thanksgiving. But it is also an honest Book that looks frankly at the hearts of men—through good and bad circumstances—and the emotions that are often revealed through these occa-sions. The psalms cover the entire

range of human emotions, feel-ings, sentiments, and sensitivities. The mood of Psalm 43 is far dif-ferent from that of Psalm 150 or Psalm 136. Chapter 43 is a psalm of lament—or crying out to God. In this psalm, the psalmist pleads to God for deliverance and seeks to understand the unjust situation he finds himself in. His plea is urgent and his heart seems to be desperate, but he does not lose sight of the fact that because God is his inheritance and his exceed-ing joy, his hope must rest in Him (Psalm 43:5).

Whether we are praising and thanking Him in the good times, recalling His faithfulness and mercy, or crying out to Him in times of anguish, He alone is always worthy of our praises.


The psalms were originally organized into five books, but they have been assembled into one book today, often referred to as the Psalter. Many of the psalms include inscriptions that tell us who wrote the poem, who was to perform, when it was to be performed, what tune they were to be set to, and occasion-ally the circumstances under which it was written. Psalms is the longest book in the Bible—150 chapters—and some say the most diverse. As you read this book, you will see many differ-ent subjects discussed, including God, war, sin and evil, judgment,



worship, praise, repentance, and prophecies of the Christ.

Among the writers are Moses, David, Asaph, the sons of Korah, and Solomon. Some of the psalms have been attributed to Ezra, even though he is not named as the writer. Although there were many human writers, we know that the ultimate author was the Holy Spirit. This is clearly affirmed by Peter when he spoke of the Spirit’s role in guiding holy men to record these words (2 Peter 1:19–21).

In 2 Samuel 23:1, David is referred to as the “sweet psalm-ist of Israel.” Knowing that David was a man after God’s own heart

(1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22), we can look to these writings as a model for our own worship of the Lord. They can be used to praise and thank God in times of per-sonal devotion as well as to min-ister to the souls of others as you “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teach-ing and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiri-tual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colos-sians 3:16).




STUDYING THE WORD

Studying God’s WordIf the psalms are poetry, why don’t they rhyme?


Psalm 150

Psalm 136

Psalm 43



ACTIVITY–ADULT

Sampling the PsalmsTh e psalms are a blend of many types of songs to be sung in worship to God. Within the 150 psalms, we fi nd diff erent types, diff erent authors, and diff erent instructions. Your job is to randomly sample fi ve psalms and complete the information in the sections below. Be prepared to share your fi ndings with the rest of the class. Don’t expect to fi nd information for all of the blanks, but fi ll in everything you can fi nd.

Psalm ________

Author _______________________________________

Instructions ___________________________________

Occasion _____________________________________

Parallelism ____________________________________

Th eme _______________________________________

_____________________________________________

Psalm ________

Author _______________________________________

Instructions ___________________________________

Occasion _____________________________________

Parallelism ____________________________________

Th eme _______________________________________

_____________________________________________



Psalm ________

Author _______________________________________

Instructions ___________________________________

Occasion _____________________________________

Parallelism ____________________________________

Theme _______________________________________

_____________________________________________

Psalm ________

Author _______________________________________

Instructions ___________________________________

Occasion _____________________________________

Parallelism ____________________________________

Theme _______________________________________

_____________________________________________

Psalm ________

Author _______________________________________

Instructions ___________________________________

Occasion _____________________________________

Parallelism ____________________________________

Theme _______________________________________

_____________________________________________



APPLY THE WORD

God’s Word in the Real World1. What have you learned today about thepsalms, and how will

it help you understand them better?

2. How do you use the psalms in your times of personal study or devotion?

3. How does knowing that there are different types of psalms help us in reading and applying the ideas presented?

4. If the psalms are poetry, do they still contain truth?

GROUP PRAYER TIME

Prayer Requests



Lesson OverviewDavid’s son Solomon was anointed king. In a dream, God asked Solomon, “What shall I give you?” (1 Kings 3:5). Solomon responded humbly by asking the Lord for an understanding heart to rule the people. God was pleased and granted Solomon’s request, plus far more. God confirmed to Solomon that he would be blessed and have a long life if he followed His commandments.



5Solomon Becomes King

Key Passages• 1 Kings 1:28–37, 2:10–12, 3:1–15, 4:20–34

What You Will Learn• The definition of wisdom from a biblical

perspective.

• The source of Solomon’s wisdom.



PREPARE TO SHARE


Time marches on. That is true in our lives, and it was true for King David. After ruling over Israel for 40 years (1 Kings 2:10–11), David died, and his son by Bathsheba, Solomon, became the next king (1 Kings 2:12). This was according to God’s perfect pur-pose and plan. David knew that the Lord had ordained this son to be the next king, that this son would have rest from his enemies, and that he would be the one to build a house for God’s name (1 Chronicles 22:7–11).

This transition to the new king was not without drama. In opposition to God’s will and David’s desires, another son of David, Adonijah, presumed to be king. He took over the role without his father’s knowledge—through treacherous means (1 Kings 1:18–19).

In response to Adonijah’s attempted coup, David com-manded that Solomon be taken away and anointed the next king (1 Kings 1:32¬35). Because we know God had appointed Solo-mon as the next king, we know that Adonijah’s attempt to over-throw God’s plan was ultimately futile and absolutely selfish. He was not considering God’s will or God’s glory, but the glory he him-self would receive as king. Before we judge too harshly, however,

how often do we follow the same pattern—devising plans to please our own desires rather than God’s?

After Solomon had become king, God appeared to him in a dream and asked Solomon, “Ask! What shall I give you?” (1 Kings 3:5). Solomon’s reply reflected his humility and dependence on God. As a young king, Solomon requested wisdom from the Lord (1 Kings 3:7, 3:9). He knew that in order to judge the people accord-ing to God’s will, he must be able to discern between good and evil. Only godly wisdom could accom-plish that. God was pleased to give Solomon a wise and understanding heart such that he was the wisest man who ever lived (1 Kings 3:12).

God blessed Solomon with wisdom and blessed him way beyond that. In fact, Solomon sur-passed all the kings of the earth in riches, honor, and wisdom (1 Kings 3:13). Solomon’s blessings from God came with a condition—he was to walk in God’s ways, keep-ing His commands and statutes as David his father had (1 Kings 3:14). God demanded obedience from Solomon. God demands obedi-ence from us. And we have the per-fect example in Jesus, who stands as the model of humble obedience to God’s will—even being obedi-ent to the point of death on a Cross in order to redeem sinners (Philip-pians 2:3–8).



How would we answer God if asked, “What shall I give to you?” How would we respond? Is there a financial burden or disease that we would like to have relieved? Would our request be set first on accomplishing God’s will for our lives? Or would we seek our own comfort and relief? Be encouraged. As the Lord renews our mind through His Word, our desires will be transformed. His Word, through the working of His Holy Spirit, will mature us to desire the things of God and trust His perfect plan for us regardless of the circumstances.

We serve the same God as the one who abundantly blessed Solomon. And He promises to give us the desires of our hearts as we align our hearts with His (Psalm 37:4).

God has blessed all His chil-dren with abundant gifts. You may not have the material wealth or immense wisdom of Solomon, but you can use what you have been given to bless others. As you do this, remember that you are seeking to follow the example of Christ—the perfect servant.


Have you ever told someone that he or she had the wisdom of Solomon, or have you ever been given that compliment? This is only one of a multitude of phrases in our language drawn from the Bible, and one of several related to Solomon. These phrases,

adopted by the world and incor-porated into our everyday con-versations, illustrate the influence God’s Word has had on the cul-tures of the past and today.

Solomon’s wisdom was a blessing from God and not the sole product of his own efforts to learn. As such, he was wiser than all of the men of the East or Egypt (1 Kings 4:30). Hearing of the fame of Solomon’s wisdom from the Lord, the Queen of Sheba vis-ited him:

Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard ques-tions. She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels that bore spices, very much gold, and pre-cious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for the king that he could not explain it to her. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her. (1 Kings 10:1–5)



In 1 Kings 4:29–34, we also learn that Solomon spoke prov-erbs, wrote many songs, and stud-ied the natural world. God’s gift of wisdom to him was applied to these areas, much of which was recorded in Scripture for our ben-efit. Solomon’s writings (much of the books of Proverbs, Ecclesias-tes, Song of Solomon, and some of the psalms) remain an abundant source of wisdom and instruction. Although Solomon failed to heed much of his own advice, it seems that at the end of his life he had come to understand that chas-ing after anything but God was to chase a vain thing (see the book of Ecclesiastes).

Solomon ruled Israel for 40 years, but after his death, the king-dom would be torn in two. Solo-mon had wisdom to know what God commanded and desired for his life, but he often failed to do what he knew was right. We can learn a valuable lesson from Sol-omon’s life and seek, by God’s grace, to be doers of the words recorded in Scripture and not just learn about them in a superficial way that, in the end, will only lead to vanity.




STUDYING THE WORD

Studying God’s WordWhere does wisdom come from?


1 Kings 1:28–37

1 Kings 2:10–12

1 Kings 3:1–15

1 Kings 4:20–34



John 14:9–21

ACTIVITY–ADULT

True WisdomExamine each of the following passages of Scripture and write a biblical defi nition of wisdom from the truths you fi nd there. After each reference, record what you learn about wisdom. If needed, read the surrounding context of the references so that you are careful not to take the ideas out of context.

Proverbs 2:6 –

Proverbs 4:7 –

Proverbs 9:10 –

Psalm 19:7 –

James 3:13–17 –

2 Timothy 3:15 –

Romans 11:33 –



Colossians 2:3 –

Colossians 4:5–6 –

1 Corinthians 2:4–5, 2:14 –

Wisdom:

APPLY THE WORD

God’s Word in the Real World1. Why is it important to remember that wisdom only comes

from God?

2. What are some practical ways that we can seek wisdom?



3. In what ways has the account of Solomon influenced Western society?

4. Part of Solomon’s blessing was conditioned upon his obedience to God. What relationship between wisdom and obedience can we draw from this lesson?

GROUP PRAYER TIME

Prayer Requests



Key Passages• 1 Chronicles 29:26–30; 1 Kings 2:10–11, 4:26;

2 Chronicles 9:25

What You Will Learn• Areas of overlap in the historical and

prophetic books of the Old Testament.

• How we know there are no contradictions in Scripture.

Lesson OverviewThe Bible is not a simple and straightforward chronological account, but it is possible to put the pieces together in a way that makes sense. The par-allel accounts in Scripture add to the rich texture of the Bible’s historical accounts. We get a slightly different angle on the events and get assurance that what is recorded is true.



6Parallel Accounts



PREPARE TO SHARE


Many people do not recognize the way the Old Testament is put together. You might think it would be laid out chronologically or topically, but that is not the case. While the history recorded in the Old Testament books is completely accurate, it doesn’t follow the pat-tern that we would typically write from a Western perspective.

Roughly, the Old Testament is organized into several distinct sections. First come the historical books—Genesis through Esther. Next comes a collection of books typically referred to as the wisdom literature or poetic books—Job through Song of Solomon. Next, we have a collection of the writ-ings called the Major Prophets—Isaiah through Daniel. Finally, we have the Minor Prophets—Hosea through Malachi.

If we were to reorganize those books into a chronological pattern, we would have to do quite a bit of work (and everyone would have to memorize a new song about the books of the Bible!). We would have to place Job somewhere around the time of Abraham, so it would come after Genesis. After Exodus, some of the information contained in Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy is duplicated, so there is a bit of overlap. After that, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and 1 Samuel remain chronological. After this,

it gets a little crazy. The book of Psalms is really a collection of writings from Moses up to the time of Solomon—a 500-year period.

1 Chronicles and 2 Samuel cover the same period of time, beginning with the reign of David (after an extensive genealogy of Israel in 1 Chronicles) and closing with the end of David’s reign. Fol-lowing these two books, 2 Chron-icles covers the same time frame as 1 Kings and 2 Kings with the accounts of the reign of Solomon through the division of the king-dom into Judah in the south and Israel in the north. In the middle of the accounts of Solomon, we would place Proverbs, Ecclesi-astes, and the Song of Solomon. The accounts of 1 and 2 Kings continue through all of the kings of the north and south until the fall of Samaria and Jerusalem. Scattered within these pages, we would include all of the prophets except Daniel, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Finally, we would place Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah at the end of our reorganized Old Testament with the four prophets just mentioned.

Wow! We need a chart to keep all of this straight in our minds, but if we are to understand the his-torical context of God’s plan of redemption throughout history, that is what we must consider. The Bible is not simply a collection of ancient stories from an ancient people; it is



an account of God’s faithfulness to His promises throughout all of his-tory. We can find reason to praise Him for all of His sovereign control over the events of the past, but per-haps more fully when we put them in their proper perspective. Even more wonderfully, we can consider how all of these events were lead-ing up to the birth of the Messiah who would come in God’s perfect timing to redeem God’s people from their sin (Ephesians 1:7–10; Galatians 4:4–5).


Many critics of the Bible argue that the Bible cannot be the words of God since the Bible contains contradictions and errors. Indeed, if the Bible did contain real con-tradictions, it would not be logical to claim it came from God. How-ever, if God used holy men of God to record the Scriptures (2 Peter 1:21), and if all Scripture is given by the inspiration of God (2 Tim-othy 3:16), and God cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18; Titus 1:2), then the Bible cannot contain statements that truly contradict one another.

Within the parallel accounts in Scripture, there are several exam-ples of alleged contradictions. Sev-eral of these occur in the parallel accounts of the Old Testament. One of the most common comes from the account of Solomon’s wealth. Read 1 Kings 4:26 and then 2 Chronicles 9:25. Now read 1 Kings 10:26 and 2 Chronicles 1:14. So, how many chariots and

horses did Solomon have? The first thing we can be sure of is that there is no real contradiction in God’s mind. With that said, there must be a solution to this conundrum.

Several reasonable solutions can be offered for this apparent contradiction. It is possible that there is a distinction in the number of men for the horses—as a mul-tiple of 10, or that one passage is referring to the horses as opposed to the stalls or the chariots. While these are possible, it is more likely that there was a minor copyist error at some point in the past which introduced this problem. We can be certain that the original manu-scripts contained no errors, but as the text was transcribed, an error could have been inserted. Before you become alarmed, this doesn’t mean we cannot trust the Bible. In fact, this type of mistake helps us to be assured that God preserves His Word through the ages. Because the account is given twice, Scrip-ture offers a self-correction, and the insertion of an extra digit can be explained. Solomon had 4,000 stalls of horses and 12,000 chario-teers to defend his kingdom.

No matter what the perceived contradiction, there is a reasonable answer to resolve the question and many resources to help you think about the issues involved. We can trust God’s Word because we can trust its Author—the Creator God who cannot lie.




STUDYING THE WORD

Studying God’s WordHow is the Old Testament put together?

ACTIVITY–ADULT

Sort It OutTh e Old Testament, as we have it today, is organized into four main sections. Th e following list is in biblical order, but not chronological order.

Historical: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther

Wisdom: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon

Major prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel

Minor prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

After completing the Sort It Out Timeline, answer the following questions.

1. Which of the historical books of the Old Testament overlap one another?



2. How will understanding this structure of the Old Testament help you as you study God’s Word?


1 Chronicles 29:26–30; 1 Kings 2:10–11

1 Kings 4:26; 2 Chronicles 9:25



APPLY THE WORD

God’s Word in the Real World1. How has the study of these parallel books helped you

understand the Bible better?

2. How do you see this knowledge changing the way that you study the Bible?

3. Many people doubt that the Bible is the true Word of God and claim that there are many contradictions in the text. How could you use these parallel accounts we have studied today to explain the truthfulness of Scripture?

4. What if someone asks you about an apparent contradiction that you are unfamiliar with? How could you respond?

GROUP PRAYER TIME

Prayer Requests



Lesson OverviewSolomon built the Temple according to God’s design, which was handed down to him from David. Upon completion, the Lord descended, and His glory filled the Temple. He was pleased to dwell there among His people.

Memory Verse1 chronicles 29:10–11

Therefore David blessed the Lord before all the assembly; and David said: “Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all.”

Key Passages• 2 Samuel 7:12–13; 1 Chronicles 28:9–19;

1 Kings 6:1–14, 8:1–13, 8:54–61

What You Will Learn• The similarities and differences between the

Tabernacle and the Temple.

• The importance of God’s Temple to Israel.

7Solomon Builds God’s Temple



PREPARE TO SHARE


You might be able to imagine how David felt. He was living in an opulent palace as king while God’s presence was in a tent that was moved from place to place (2 Samuel 7:1–7). He wanted to honor God by building a Temple where God could be worshiped. God had other plans—David’s son Solomon was to build the Temple (2 Samuel 7:12–13). David had shed too much blood in too many wars. Because of this, God did not want him to build His Temple (1 Chroni-cles 22:7–8). However, David did have a part in the building of the Temple. He collected the wealth in gold, silver, bronze, and timber needed to build the Temple (1 Chronicles 28:14–18). God gave David the understand-ing and instructions in writing on how to build the Temple, and David passed the plans on to Sol-omon (1 Chronicles 28:11–19).

Like the plans for the Taberna-cle God gave to Moses, the instruc-tions that David received from God described in amazing detail every pattern and design to be included in the construction of the Temple and its fixtures. Take a few minutes, right now, to read through 1 Kings 6 and 7:13–51. Imagine your-self walking through this majes-tic building and examining all of the ornate details described. How would you feel standing in a place

that was designed by God for His own worship?

The Tabernacle was tempo-rary and portable. It was used for worship by the Israelites while they were wandering in the desert and for another 440 years after that. The Temple, however, was a permanent structure built atop a mountain (1 Kings 6). All of the details of the Temple, from the towering pillars in the front to the large cherubim standing in the inner sanctuary, pointed to a God who was majestic and worthy of praise. Stone walls replaced the fabrics and skins that composed the Tabernacle, and the inte-rior was paneled with the finest cedar and sculpted with exquisite reminders of God’s providence. Rather than one table and lamp-stand, the Temple had ten of each made of solid gold (1 Kings 7:48–49; 2 Chronicles 4:8). The altar of incense, also made of solid gold, stood outside the doors to the Most Holy Place. The Temple was a constant reminder that God’s holiness and majesty demanded a very specific pattern of worship.

Imagine the splendor of the massive rooms, their walls com-pletely covered with gold, carv-ings, chains, pomegranates, and palms. The light from the ten lampstands would have danced around the room in brilliant splen-dor. But that was not so in the Most Holy Place—the only light



there would have come from the presence of God dwelling above the Ark of the Covenant.

When the Temple was finally dedicated, the Ark of the Cov-enant was put in place in the shadow of the wings of the cher-ubim, containing only the two tablets of the law given to Moses (1 Kings 8:6–9). After the priests had placed the Ark, God’s pres-ence was seen as the cloud of His glory filled not only the space above the mercy seat but also the entire Temple (1 Kings 8:10–11). God was pleased to dwell among His people in this Temple.

For now this would be the center of worship for the Jews. Here, they would celebrate the feasts, offer their gifts and sacri-fices to God, fulfill the national sacrifice on Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement), and worship God with songs of praise and thanks-giving. Sadly, all of this came to an end 420 years later when God sent Nebuchadnezzar’s army to sack Jerusalem in 588 BC because of Israel’s sin. The Babylonians leveled the Temple, taking its great wealth as a trophy back to Baby-lon (2 Chronicles 36:17–19).

So, despite all of the pag-eantry and majesty of this first Temple, it would not last forever. In fact, a second Temple would be built to worship God in Jeru-salem—the Temple that existed during Jesus’s ministry and that was destroyed in AD 70. But God

does not demand ornate temple worship today. Jesus made this point clear when He spoke to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. He told her plainly that the place of worship would no longer be in Jerusalem, but true worshippers—those who worship God through His Son, the Savior Jesus Christ—would worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:20–24). In fact, the New Testament teaches that we—the church, Christ’s body—are the temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19; Ephesians 2:19–22).

So, rather than trekking to Jerusalem, Christians are privi-leged and invited to approach God’s throne of grace with great boldness (Hebrews 4:14–16). Because of Jesus’s death on the Cross and His Resurrection from the dead, all believers may offer prayers directly to God and receive the grace and mercy He promises. What a glorious truth to share with the whole world!


Four hundred eighty years after the Israelites left Egypt (1 Kings 6:1), Solomon began building the Temple. The foun-dation was put in place in the fourth year of his kingship and the work was completed seven years later (1 Kings 6:37–38). The Temple was constructed of the finest stone. Lumber was imported from around the region, and the



finest craftsmen were employed in the work. Nothing less would be worthy of use in the Temple of the Most High God.

Many critics of the Bible sug-gest that there is no way that Solo-mon could have amassed so much wealth. Just the amount of gold needed to plate all of the walls and ceilings of the Temple is stagger-ing, and that is not to mention the tables and lampstands. The amount of bronze for the pillars, tools, and other furnishings was so vast that its weight was not even recorded (1 Kings 7:47). Skeptics reject the Bible as a source of truth and as a revelation from God, so they natu-rally discount things they think are absurd. But that is just the point—it is just their opinion. They have no evidence to support their claims apart from their own conjecture.

But those of us who believe the Bible is God’s infallible Word

can simply turn there and read that God gave Solomon both riches and honor that exceeded any other king (1 Kings 3:13). In addition to that, when we consider the friend-ship between David and Hiram of Tyre (2 Samuel 5:11; 1 Kings 5:1), the treasures that David intentionally stored up during his reign (1 Kings 7:51), and the opu-lent gifts given to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10:10–12), we see that there was enough wealth at Solomon’s disposal to accomplish the task. God wanted the Temple built—and He orches-trated history so that the supplies would be available when the time came. His sovereign hand was at work to supply everything needed to fulfill His plans.




STUDYING THE WORD

Studying God’s WordWhere is the Temple today?


1 Chronicles 28:9–19

Exodus 25:8–9

1 Kings 6:1–14



Exodus 29:45

1 Kings 8:10–11

ACTIVITY–ADULT

The Temple TodayWhile Solomon’s Temple was a glorious structure, it is not with us today. In its time, the Temple was the center of all of the worship and sacrifi ce off ered to God. However, it was utterly destroyed in 588 BC by the Babylonians. So, where is the Temple today where we are to worship?

Red these passages and answer the question below:

• 1 Corinthians 3:16

• 2 Corinthians 6:16

• Ephesians 2:20–22

• 1 Peter 2:4–5

• Hebrews 3:4–6

• John 4:19–24



What do these passages teach us about worshipping at a temple today?

APPLY THE WORD

God’s Word in the Real World1. What do the similarities in the Temple and the Tabernacle

tell us about the character of God?

2. Many skeptics doubt the details of the building of the Temple based on the amount of wealth involved. Is this a reasonable objection to trusting the Bible?



3. If you have never thought of yourself as a priest or a temple, how might adopting that perspective help you to honor God more with your life?

4. God set out a very specific pattern of worship for the Israelites, involving many details. Would following that type of pattern make you a more fervent worshipper of God? Why or why not?

GROUP PRAYER TIME

Prayer Requests



Lesson OverviewThe wisdom we need to seek—the only wisdom worth having—is wisdom we can receive from God through His Word. The Bible is a treasure God wants us to mine. The book of Proverbs, written by the wisest man that ever lived, is full of answers to everyday problems we all face. If we study and apply the wisdom in this book, we will see our lives change to be god-lier and far less worldly.



Key Passages• Proverbs 1:1–7, 2:1–6, 19:1–29;

Colossians 2:2–3

What You Will Learn• The source of all wisdom.

• Different areas of wisdom from the book of Proverbs.

8Wisdom from God



PREPARE TO SHARE


God blessed Solomon with wisdom. In fact, God gave Solo-mon a wise and understanding heart such that he was the wisest man who ever lived (1 Kings 3:12). This wisdom came in response to Solomon’s request as a young king for wisdom from God to judge the people properly and according to God’s will. As a young king, he demonstrated his humble depen-dence on God. He knew that in order to properly discern between good and evil he would need godly wisdom (1 Kings 3:6–9).

Using the wisdom He gave to Solomon, God inspired the writ-ing of the book of Proverbs, most of which was written by Solo-mon. The proverbs give us basic godly principles for life in simple, straightforward language. They deal with all aspects of life: money, time, friendships, lust, murder, lazi-ness, theft, personal habits, faith, trusting God, etc. These statements are often not meant as absolutes, but general principles and instruc-tions from God.

Care should be taken while studying the proverbs to com-pare Scripture with Scripture before conclusions are drawn. For example, Proverbs 22:4 says, “By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life.” Is every humble Christian rich? Unfortunately, many teach-ers take passages like this and

teach them as absolute promises of material wealth. We must be careful that our understanding of each of these nuggets of wisdom is applied alongside the whole counsel of God.

The opening lines from Sol-omon make it clear that it is the fear of the Lord that brings knowl-edge and understanding, which we need to interpret Scripture (Proverbs 1:7). Solomon repeat-edly instructs his sons, the imme-diate audience of much of the book of Proverbs, to seek wisdom and understanding from God—the source of all wisdom. He tells them to “cry out,” to “lift up your voice,” to “search,” and to “trea-sure” the words of wisdom. The truths contained in God’s Word are there, but we must be diligent to search them out, to understand them, to meditate on them, and to apply them to our lives. None of this can happen apart from God’s grace in our lives, which gives us the desire and ability to under-stand His truths.

As stated above, Proverbs teaches repeatedly that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. That same fear of the Lord—reverence for who God is and fear of His wrath and judg-ment—will lead us to Christ in whom we find all the treasures and fullness of understanding and wisdom (Colossians 2:2–3). As we set our minds on Christ



and meditate on how He was the perfect example of wisdom, we begin to understand better how to behave in a way that will honor God. Ultimately, true godly wisdom will come in the knowl-edge of Jesus Christ. And this will happen only through searching the Scriptures in a way that will show ourselves approved to God (2 Timothy 2:15).

Apart from faith, nothing that we do pleases God (Hebrews 11:6). The proverbs offer wise and universal principles for living that people can put into practice, regardless of whether they have submitted their lives to Christ or not. And in many cases, according to God’s goodness, living by these principles will provide benefits to Christians and non-Christians. However, these blessings rendered to non-Christians are temporary.

The proverbs instruct on moral and right behavior. We must be aware that our behavior is not what brings us favor in the eyes of God. Nothing we do can com-mend us to God. It is only through the perfect obedience of Christ on our behalf that we are considered righteous in His eyes.

Obedience to God through works is pleasing to Him, but our salvation is founded solely on the grace of God through the gift of faith—not by works (Ephesians 2:8–10). Gratitude for our salvation based on what Christ has done, and the fact that we are new crea-tures in Christ with new desires that want to honor and please

Him, will encourage (and enable) right behavior lived out according to the wisdom of Proverbs.

Much of the book of Prov-erbs was likely written early in Solomon’s reign. Scripture tells us that Solomon often failed to heed his own advice, and later in life, his heart was disloyal to the Lord (1 Kings 11:4). You might think that, being the wisest man on the planet, he would never make a mistake. Well, that just wasn’t the case. Have you ever done something that you knew wasn’t what God intended for you? Did you ever offer someone advice and then did the opposite your-self? This seems to be the case with Solomon. He knew it was wrong to offer sacrifices to other gods, but he did it (1 Kings 3:3). He knew God forbade the king to have multiple wives, but he mar-ried many (1 Kings 11:1–13). He knew that God was the only true source of fulfillment, yet he sought it in God’s creation (Ecclesiastes 2). We see in his later writing, the book of Ecclesiastes, that Solomon lamented the time and energy he squandered pursuing the things of the world—and neglecting the things of God. In fact, Solomon strongly warned the generations to follow to avoid the sinful mistakes he had made.


As you examine cultures around the world, you will find the wisdom of the ages preserved



in various forms. Proverbs from around the world have been passed down through the genera-tions in verbal and written form. You can find an example by visit-ing your local Chinese restaurant! While there may be some truth to many of these proverbs, they are born out of experience rather than wisdom from God. Because they are not grounded in a fear of the Lord (Proverbs 1:7, 2:5–6), those proverbs are worldly wisdom, not godly wisdom.

Another problem with many cultural proverbs is that they get equated with biblical proverbs. If

you took a survey, many people would not be able to tell the dif-ference. For example, the phrase “God helps those who help them-selves,” is thought by many to be from the Bible when, in fact, it is the worldly wisdom found in Poor Richard’s Almanac. This is why we must constantly check everything that we hear against Scripture. Only as we look to Christ and the truths found in the Word of God can we truly exercise wisdom.




ACTIVITY–ADULT

Pop QuizTake the Proverbs pop quiz.

STUDYING THE WORD

Studying God’s WordAre you familiar with this proverb? God helps those who help themselves—Proverbs 32:7.


Proverbs 1:1–7

Proverbs 9:10

Proverbs 2:1–9

2 Timothy 3:16

Colossians 2:1–3

1 Corinthians 2:10–15



ACTIVITY–ADULT

Mining for TruthMany people doubt that the Bible is useful today. After all, it was written thousands of years ago, so how could it have any real application today? Read through Poverbs 19. In the space below, write down the diff erent topics that you fi nd addressed.

APPLY THE WORD

God’s Word in the Real World1. What has changed in your understanding of the proverbs as

a result of this lesson?

2. How could memorizing a proverb about a specifi c sin you are struggling with help you to overcome that sinful pattern?

3. Since the book of Proverbs is not arranged topically, how would you go about fi nding proverbs that deal with various ideas?

4. What sources of counterfeit wisdom—the wisdom that comes from the world, not Christ—have you been attracted to in the past (or present)? How can you distinguish between godly wisdom and worldly wisdom?

GROUP PRAYER TIME

Prayer Requests



Lesson OverviewSolomon disobeyed God when he amassed riches, gold, and silver—wealth he used for his own pleasure. He also married many wives from foreign countries who brought their gods and practices with them. Solo-mon turned away from God to worship the false gods of his wives. God judged his sin by tearing Israel from him. During the reign of Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, Israel was split. From this point on, the Israelites would be divided and ruled over by different kings.



Key Passages• Deuteronomy 17:14–17; 1 Kings 11:1–13,

11:41–43, 12:1–20

What You Will Learn• Why God became angry with Solomon.

• How the kingdom was divided.

9The Kingdom Is Divided



PREPARE TO SHARE


God warned them it would happen. Before the Israelites even came into the Promised Land, God commanded that the future king should not gather wives and horses for himself or amass great wealth (Deuteronomy 17:14–17). When the people cried out for a king, God warned them through Samuel that a king would abuse them, making their sons and daughters his servants and taking their land and its produce (1 Samuel 8:9–18). God had been their king, but now they would be ruled by a descendant of Adam—a man with a sinful heart.

Although Solomon’s reign started off well, he eventually fell into sin. He disobeyed God and did all the things God had warned that the king should not do. Sol-omon had many horses imported from Egypt and Keveh (or Kue) to fortify his armies (1 Kings 10:28). He gathered massive amounts of gold into his treasury, count-ing silver as a common metal (1 Kings 10:16–23). He mar-ried many women from all of the lands surrounding his kingdom as a way to secure alliances. He loved many women from foreign nations with whom God had pro-hibited the Israelites to intermarry. In fact, he had 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:1–3). Solomon’s sinful heart led him to

violate God’s clear commands, and the result was just as God had said—Solomon turned to worship-ping the gods of his wives (1 Kings 11:4). Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord. Sadly, this phrase would become a common refrain regarding the kings of Israel.

As a result of his polygamous relationships and idolatrous sin, God appeared to Solomon to deliver a message of judgment. Because of Solomon’s sins against God, the kingdom would be torn away from him (1 Kings 11:9–11). And yet, even in this punishment, God demonstrated His mercy and His faithfulness. For the sake of God’s promise to David, God would wait until after Solomon’s death. Solomon’s son would be the one from whom the kingdom would be taken, yet one tribe would remain under his rule for David’s sake (1 Kings 11:12–13).

After Solomon’s death, his son Rehoboam took his place on the throne (1 Kings 11:41–43). What happened next sounds like the sto-ryline of a suspense-filled drama. Jeroboam, a servant of Solomon who had fled to Egypt to escape Solomon, returned. Ahijah, a prophet from Shiloh, had told Jeroboam that the kingdom would be divided and that 10 tribes would be given to him (Jeroboam) and only one tribe would remain with Rehoboam (Solomon’s son) (1 Kings 11:34–36). Jeroboam



returned to Israel to serve as the advocate and spokesperson for the people before Rehoboam. The people requested that Rehoboam lighten the burdensome service his father, Solomon, had put on them (1 Kings 12:1–5).

King Rehoboam sought coun-sel. He received differing opin-ions, and his answer revealed just how dark his heart was. He announced that he would not lighten the load but would add to their burdens and oppress them even more wickedly than Solo-mon had (1 Kings 12:5–11).

The people would have served a just leader, but they rebelled against Rehoboam because of the severity of his answer. We see a vivid picture of God’s sovereignty in the affairs of men as we read that “the king did not listen to the people for the turn of events was from the Lord, that He might ful-fill His word, which the Lord had spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat” (1 Kings 12:15).

This was God’s plan. God was the one who orchestrated all of these events. God used Rehoboam’s foolish actions to cause the people to rebel against his kingship. God used the sinful heart of man to bring about His purpose in the world. And how reassuring to us in a world that is tossed to and fro by many different political leaders that our God con-trols the hearts of the kings. He holds those hearts in His hands—and He turns them wherever He

wishes (Proverbs 21:1). What a relief to know that God is in the heavens, and He is doing what-ever He pleases (Psalm 115:3), and whatever He pleases is right (Genesis 18:25).

From this point forward, the Israelites would be divided and ruled over by different kings. Only the tribe of Judah remained under the authority of the line of David, and its capital was Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:20). The Southern King-dom—consisting of one tribe—is usually referred to as Judah throughout the rest of the Old Tes-tament. The Northern Kingdom—consisting of the remaining 10 tribes—became known as Israel. The tribe of Benjamin had divided land (and loyalties). And since the Levites did not acquire tribal land but resided in the Levitical cities, both kingdoms contained descen-dants from the tribe of Levi as well. The only hope to heal this division would be to bring about true heal-ing and forgiveness through the Lion of Judah—the King of kings who came to sit on the throne of David as the perfect ruler.


Polygamy was not uncommon at the time of Solomon. Indeed, it was a sign of wealth and status. Solomon would have taken many of his wives as symbols of treaties with other nations or tribes, but this was against God’s commands to him. Solomon had written in the book of Proverbs about avoiding



the sexual temptations of women, but he fell into a sinful pattern and was led to worship the gods that his wives served. He built places of worship for Ashtoreth, the fer-tility goddess of the Canaanites; Molech, the Ammonite god who received child sacrifice; and Che-mosh, the Moabite god who also received child sacrifice. It is clear that Solomon engaged not only in marital polygamy but also in spiri-tual polygamy.

On top of those sins, Solomon had taken much of his wealth from the people. His son Rehoboam compounded that sin by seeking to oppress the people even more. From that point forward, there was constant strife between the North

and the South. As we move for-ward through these lessons, we will get a brief overview of some of the troubles in each of the king-doms. Most of the third quarter lessons will look at the kings and prophets of Judah and Israel, dem-onstrating the good, the bad, and the really ugly things that hap-pened. Through all of these events, though, we can trust that God is in control and that He was working all of these events together in a way that would ultimately lead to the coming of the perfect king—King Jesus.




STUDYING THE WORD

Studying God’s WordWho would be the perfect king?


1 Kings 11:1–13

Deuteronomy 17:14–17

1 Kings 11:41–43

1 Kings 12:1–20

ACTIVITY–ADULT

Object LessonsRead 1 Kings 11:26–40 and answer the following questions.

1. Who was Jeroboam?

2. Who was Ahijah?



3. What object did Ahijah use to prophesy about the future?

4. Why was it torn into 12 pieces?

5. What is important about Jerusalem?

6. Why did Jeroboam go to Egypt?

7. In light of all that we have studied today, why did Rehoboam have to respond harshly to the Israelites?

APPLY THE WORD

God’s Word in the Real World1. How do the actions of Solomon and Rehoboam expose their

sin of unbelief?

2. Solomon was warned that having wives from other nations would be a snare that would lead him to worship false gods—idols. What are some of the things in your life (or in our society) that you know are forbidden, but you keep toying with in unbelief, thinking that they will bring pleasure rather than destruction?



3. Many people often claim that it is unfair that we should suffer for something Adam did. Knowing that Rehoboam’s bad decision brought about war and division among the Israelites for centuries to come, how can we draw an analogy to help people understand the universal effects of sin that came through Adam to all his descendants?

4. When we compare the kings and rulers of men to King Jesus, we can easily recognize how far short these earthly kings fall. Why do we, as people, tend to put so much trust in what a new king (president/governor/senator/council member) can do to change the future?

5. How does knowing that King Jesus is coming back to fully establish His kingdom give you hope for the future?



GROUP PRAYER TIME

Prayer Requests



Lesson OverviewGod called Jonah to deliver an important message to Nineveh. Instead, Jonah headed the opposite direction. After being swallowed by a giant fish, Jonah repented and headed to Nineveh. Nineveh repented after hear-ing God’s message. Jonah and Nineveh received God’s grace, and God’s will was accomplished



Key Passages• Jonah 1–4; Matthew 12:38–41

What You Will Learn• How Jonah responded to God’s call to

preach to Nineveh.

• How God showed His grace to Jonah and Nineveh.

10God Sends Jonah



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We serve an amazing God! He continually reveals Himself to us. Time and time again, His Word proclaims His attributes including His patience, mercy, grace, for-giveness, and goodness (Exodus 34:6–7). As we study one of God’s prophets today, we do well to be grateful each day for the grace God has shown in our lives.

Jonah was a prophet of God who was called to prophesy to the 10 tribes of Israel. However, his acclaim doesn’t come from his association with Israel, but rather from his encounter with God, a great fish, and the Ninevites. The capital of Assyria, Nineveh was believed to have been one of the largest cities in the world at the time. The people there were known for godlessness, idolatry, and cruelty. The Jews despised these pagan Gentiles—and Jonah was no exception.

That seems to be why Jonah ran the other direction when God called him to warn the Nin-evites of their wickedness and of God’s impending punishment. He despised the Ninevites and did not want God to forgive them (Jonah 4:2). Jonah’s escape route led him to a ship bound for Tarshish (Jonah 1:3). But could Jonah really outrun God? Of course not. God’s purpose will never be subverted.

In fact, Jonah’s rebellion and flight led to a revelation of

God’s complete sovereignty and omnipotence over every circum-stance and over all of His cre-ation. In pursuit of Jonah, the Lord sent a great wind on the sea. A great storm arose, and the ship headed for Tarshish was about to be broken up (Jonah 1:4). Not only that, but the Lord had prepared a great fish to swal-low Jonah when he was thrown overboard (Jonah 1:17). Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. This is a God that CANNOT be outrun or outwitted! Finally, Jonah prayed to the Lord in humble submis-sion to God’s sovereignty, in sin-cere repentance, and with an ear-nest request for God’s mercy and grace. The Lord heard his prayer and spoke to the fish, which vom-ited the prophet of God out onto the ground (Jonah 2).

God faithfully answered Jonah’s prayer for mercy. God saved him from drowning, pre-served him in the fish, and then offered him another opportunity to go to the Ninevites and preach the message of judgment. This time, Jonah obeyed!

Jonah cried out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be over-thrown!” (Jonah 3:4). God again demonstrated His abundant grace and mercy—this time to the sinful, rebellious, and despicable Ninev-ites. The people of Nineveh—from the greatest to the least—believed



God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth as a sign of their repentance. God saw that they turned from their evil ways, and He relented and did not bring the destruction He had planned (Jonah 3:10).

To review, Jonah had received a clear message from God and knew that he should obey, but instead he chose to sin by disre-garding God’s command to go to Nineveh. His sin did not stop God or His purposes. Nor can we thwart God’s plans for us. He will always accomplish what He intends, and He WILL carry out the work He has begun in us to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).

What marvelous lessons for us in this small book. We, too, have sinned against God and continue to do so, but He has been gracious in giving us the message of the gospel. He has shown mercy to us in offering His Son on the Cross for the payment of our sins. He has listened to our cries of repentance and held back the punishment that He would be perfectly justified to give us.

We can use the account of Jonah to examine our own hearts in another area. Jonah was hos-tile toward sharing the gospel with the pagan Gentiles of Nineveh and was displeased that God would indeed save them (Jonah 4:1–2). Similarly, there may be times we feel that certain people don’t deserve to hear the mes-sage of the gospel—the message

of repentance and faith. Perhaps we believe them to be pathetic, evil sinners—seemingly without hope. We need to guard against any type of self-righteousness in our own salvation and remem-ber that our sins were the reason Jesus suffered and died. He will-ingly bore our sins, dying on our behalf. Let’s take time to consider the Apostle Paul’s words to Timo-thy: “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God per-haps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth” (2 Timothy 2:24–25).

What an awesome truth to meditate on. Throughout the ages, God has used His people to deliver the message of repentance and forgiveness in Christ, and He is still doing so today. Maybe you will be the Jonah for someone today who will hear the message of the hope of Christ and trust in that truth.


Jonah was a prophet from the region of Galilee, the city of Gath Hepher near Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25). We know that his father was a man named Amittai, but nothing else about the family is recorded in Scrip-ture. Although some schol-ars claim Jonah was not a real person, Jesus Himself referred to Jonah. On at least two occasions



(Matthew 12:39–41, 16:4), Jesus used Jonah as an example of a call to repentance and as a sign of His death, burial, and Resur-rection. Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees that “as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Undoubtedly, Jesus regarded Jonah as an historical figure, and He regarded Jonah’s experiences in the fish and his preaching to Nineveh as real events.

The Assyrians were descen-dants of Shem’s son Asshur who settled in the North and occu-pied various places throughout the centuries. Around 1100 BC, Assyria rose to power in Mesopo-tamia and later declined. During this period of decline, around 800 BC, God sent Jonah to Nineveh. The city was known for its immo-rality and cruelty, and it is truly a miracle of God’s grace that the people turned from their wicked-ness—but the repentance didn’t

continue in future generations. Later prophecies would be deliv-ered against the Ninevites from Nahum, and God would judge them for their wickedness.

Under the leadership of Tiglath-Pileser III (2 Kings 16:7), Assyria began to influence Israel. Eventually, the Assyrians would conquer the Northern tribes and take them into captivity. After the fall of Samaria in 721 BC, the Isra-elites lost control of that region for many centuries. The Assyrian kings began to carry the Jews away from their land and brought new lead-ers from their own culture to Israel. This advanced the practice of the Jews intermarrying with the Assyr-ians and other foreigners. Because of this intermarrying, they were considered traitors by those who had remained in Judah, causing tension between the Samaritans and the Jews, which continued well past the time of Christ.




STUDYING THE WORD

Studying God’s WordDo you really believe a fi sh swallowed a man? Why or why not?


Jonah 1–2

2 Kings 14:25

Jonah 3–4



ACTIVITY–ADULT

Making AccommodationsUsing the verses below, answer the questions with as simple of answers as possible.

1. Can God lie or deceive people? (Hebrews 6:18; Titus 1:2)

2. Is Jesus God?

3. Can Jesus lie?

4. Did Jesus present Jonah as a real person? (Matthew 12:38–41, 16:1–4)

5. Did Jesus say that Jonah was in a fi sh for three days and nights?

6. Did Jesus say that Jonah preached to Nineveh?

7. Some people claim that Jesus knew that Jonah was not a real account, but rather a myth intended to teach a truth. Jesus was just accommodating the people’s understanding without correcting their misunderstanding. If this were the case, would Jesus be deceiving the people into believing Jonah was a real person who was really swallowed by a fi sh?

8. If Jesus misled his listeners, can He be the Savior of all mankind?



APPLY THE WORD

God’s Word in the Real World1. In what ways do you identify with Jonah in this section of

Scripture?

2. When the gospel is proclaimed, it must be proclaimed through imperfect people. How can recognizing your limitations actually help you in proclaiming the gospel to those around you?

3. Jonah knew that God was merciful and gracious (4:1–2), but his correct understanding didn’t automatically lead him to right actions. How can we help one another to obey God’s commands and trust in His character?

4. Let’s do a little heart checkup. If you really stopped and examined your heart, who do you believe is unworthy of receiving grace and mercy from the gracious and merciful God who saved you from your sin?



5. If you have received God’s mercy and grace in Christ, who do you need to intentionally share that truth with? Who have you been hesitant to go to with the hope of the gospel?

GROUP PRAYER TIME

Prayer Requests



Lesson OverviewGod sent the prophet Elijah to challenge wicked King Ahab and the prophets of Baal in order to demonstrate the power and identity of the true God. The prophets of Baal could not call down fire on their sacrifice. But Elijah’s sacrifice was consumed, and the people bowed in worship to the almighty, one true God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel.



Key Passage• 1 Kings 18:20–45

What You Will Learn• How the actions of the priests of Baal

compare with Elijah’s actions.

• How God demonstrated His power over Baal.

11God Uses Elijah



PREPARE TO SHARE


Today’s lesson is about another prophet of God. God used prophets throughout the Old Testament to send messages of encouragement, judgment, warning, and to perform miracles in His name to show His glory! The prophet Elijah ministered, like Jonah, to the 10 tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. He had a powerful ministry in spite of the turmoil, the victories, the defeats, and the depression he often endured (1 Kings 17–19).

Through Elijah we come to know that God is a jealous God. When we hear the word jealous, we often think it refers to being envious of someone—wanting something they have for ourselves. We tend to consider jealousy a sinful reaction. So when we hear that God is jealous (Exodus 34:13–14), we wonder what it means. God cannot sin, nor does anyone physically possess anything He would want, since everything belongs to Him (Psalm 50:12). His jealousy is not the sinful jeal-ousy we often consider. So what is it? God’s jealousy is a desire for His own glory! God’s jealousy is provoked when we worship any-thing above Him. In the Bible, His jealousy is related to idolatry (Exodus 20:4–5, 34:14; Deuteron-omy 4:23–24, 5:9, 32:21; Joshua 24:19–20). As the Creator, God is

the only one who rightly deserves to be worshipped. As the Creator, He is righteous in His jealousy to be exclusively worshipped, and those who bow down to other gods will surely face His wrath.

Elijah knew that there is one true God and that He alone is to be worshipped. But at that time, King Ahab and his wife Jeze-bel ruled over Israel in Samaria. Ahab worshipped the false god Baal, built a temple, set up an altar to Baal in the temple, and erected wooden images to wor-ship (1 Kings 16:31–33). In fact, Ahab did more to provoke God’s anger than any other king of Israel (1 Kings 16:33). And God would reveal His jealousy when Ahab promoted pagan worship. Into this idolatrous environment God sent Elijah, who stood before King Ahab and pronounced that the Lord God of Israel would stop the rain and cause a severe drought in the land (1 Kings 17:1).

God did not spare Elijah from this drought but did care for him in supernatural ways—first at the Brook Cherith where he found water to drink and food from ravens sent from God (1 Kings 17:3–4). And then God sent him to Zarephath, a city on the Medi-terranean Sea, to a widow who was commanded to provide for the prophet of God (1 Kings 17:9–10). Although destitute, she was able to



do so by God’s miraculous mercy and grace (1 Kings 17:11–14).

God eventually sent Elijah back to challenge Ahab and the 850 false prophets who worshiped pagan gods (1 Kings 18:1, 18:18–19). Elijah persuaded King Ahab to assemble with the false proph-ets and all Israel at Mount Carmel for God’s determined confronta-tion. There, he asked the Israelites, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21).

Altars were built, sacrifices were prepared, but the challenge was to be the fire. Whoever would answer the plea for fire to burn the sacrifice was the true God (1 Kings 18:24). The Baal wor-shippers called, danced, leaped, howled, and cut themselves with knives and lances—but to no avail. The one true God would not allow them to succeed (1 Kings 18:26–29). He was restraining the demons behind the inanimate idols. The priests’ efforts were futile.

Now Elijah was prepared to show the power and glory of the true Creator God. The altar was prepared, and lest anyone doubt God’s authority, Elijah ordered that four pots of water be poured onto the sacrifice and over the wood. This was done three times! Even the trench around the altar was filled with water (1 Kings 18:33–35).

Elijah cried out to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel (Jacob). Then, the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt

sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the dust, and the water that was in the trench. The people fell to the ground and proclaimed that the Lord, He is God (1 Kings 18:38–39).

At Elijah’s command the prophets of Baal were seized and executed at the Brook Kishon (1 Kings 18:40). This fulfilled God’s law that any false prophet should be killed (Deuteronomy 13:5). And as Elijah prayed to the Lord from the top of Mount Carmel, a cloud appeared and the drought ended with heavy rainfall.

In Israel, it was evident that Baal was nothing and that God was everything. God is not mocked. His truth will prevail, and the whole world will one day know that He is God, the only true God, and that salvation comes only one way—through His Son Jesus Christ, crucified on a Cross and raised again to life!


Elijah had a long ministry in both the northern and southern kingdoms. He was born in Israel and is said to have come from Tishbe (1 Kings 17:1). As God’s prophet, Elijah was called to fulfill many different roles. He delivered messages of national judgment because of idolatry and messages of judgment to individual leaders. His ministry was affirmed by the working of many miracles. These signs were a mark of the authen-ticity of Elijah’s work on behalf



of God. He stopped the rain (1 Kings 17:1), raised the dead (1 Kings 17:22), called fire from heaven (1 Kings 18:38), and per-formed other signs.

Elijah ministered during the early part of the divided king-dom, a time when there was ram-pant idolatry in Israel and Judah. As he constantly called the tribes back to worship Jehovah, he faced a religious system that was based in works and superstition rather than in truth. The demonic influence in the religious systems of the Gentile nations was obvi-ous and was a constant cause for judgment against Israel and Judah. God used the nations sur-rounding the two kingdoms to bring judgment on the people.

Elijah was one of the ear-liest of the prophets proclaim-ing to the Israelites the message of repentance and reconcilia-tion with God, but that message would be repeated by others over

the next several hundred years. The Jews did not remain faithful to God as a nation, but they repeat-edly involved themselves in spir-itual adultery with other gods—the idolatry that is still present in all other religions today. And as we look at the world around us, and our own hearts, the words of John Calvin ring true: “From this we may gather that man’s nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols” (Institutes Book I.XI.8). 1 Corinthians 10:14 warns us to “flee from idolatry.” God alone is worthy of praise and deserves first place in our hearts.

God is faithful, and as He did in Elijah’s time (1 Kings 19:18), He will always reserve a rem-nant who worship Him in truth and who declare His Word to the next generation.




STUDYING THE WORD

Studying God’s WordIs it good to be jealous?


1 Kings 17

1 Kings 18:1–40

Joshua 24:14–17

Deuteronomy 13:1–5

1 Corinthians 8:4–6, 10:19–20



ACTIVITY–ADULT

A Jealous GodWe typically think of jealousy as a negative—and even sinful—act. God was jealous for the worship of the Israelites; He did not want them worshipping Baal. Was He wrong for being jealous?

Examine the following passages to better understand the biblical view of God’s jealousy. As you read each passage, note the main idea and then answer the questions that follow.

Exodus 20:1–5 –

Deuteronomy 4:23–24 –

Deuteronomy 5:9, 6:15 –

Nahum 1:2 –

1. Does God describe Himself as jealous?

2. Can God sin?

3. Is God’s jealousy sinful?

4. What is the connection between jealousy and idolatry in these passages?

5. What makes God’s jealousy distinct from the type of jealousy we have as God’s creatures?

6. Is jealousy ever acceptable in people? If so, when?




1 Kings 18:41–45

James 5:17–18

APPLY THE WORD

God’s Word in the Real World1. Many people say that if God were to come down and do a

miracle for them, like sending fire to consume a soaking-wet sacrifice, they would believe in God. How would you respond to someone making such a claim?

2. What religions would you consider to be grounded in idolatry?

3. God is the only one in the universe who deserves to be worshipped. If idolatry is offering honor or reverence to something other than God, what forms does idolatry take in our society?



4. What does idolatry look like in your life?

5. What is the remedy for idolatry?

6. How does knowledge of who God is—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—help us to direct our worship toward God alone?

GROUP PRAYER TIME

Prayer Requests



Lesson OverviewGod whisked Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, and Elijah’s mantle fell to Elisha. Right away, miracles confirmed Elisha’s role as a prophet of God, and the healing of Naaman’s leprosy spread the fame of the Lord as far as Syria.



Key Passages• 2 Kings 2:6–15, 5:8–18

What You Will Learn• How God called Elisha to be His prophet.

• How Elisha demonstrated he was a prophet of God.

12God Calls Elisha



PREPARE TO SHARE


Jezebel was seeking to kill Elijah because of God’s triumph over the false prophets at Mount Carmel and the subsequent execu-tion of those false prophets (1 Kings 18:36–40). In fear, Elijah ran for his life into the wilderness. In desper-ation, he prayed that he might die (1 Kings 19:2–4). But in obedience, he ate the food God provided and continued his journey south for 40 days to Horeb, the mountain of God (1 Kings 19:8). In a cave on this mountain, Elijah again encoun-tered God, learned that God had appointed Elisha to replace him (1 Kings 19:16), and was encour-aged to know that God had spared 7,000 in Israel who were faithful to Him (1 Kings 19:18). As Elijah then returned north toward Damascus, he met Elisha plowing with oxen. Before Elisha knew what was hap-pening, he had Elijah’s mantle (an outer garment like a cloak or robe) on his own shoulders (1 Kings 19:19). Elisha would have under-stood that this meant that God had appointed him to be a prophet like Elijah. Elisha followed the great prophet and became his servant (1 Kings 19:21).

The transition of Elisha assum-ing Elijah’s role occurred at the Jordan River about 20 years after Elisha had left his home. Elijah and Elisha stood by the river. Elijah rolled up his mantle, struck the water, and the river divided so

they crossed on dry land (2 Kings 2:8). God would bestow to Elisha the blessing he requested through Elijah—a double portion of Eli-jah’s spirit. Elisha witnessed Eli-jah’s unique ascent into heaven as he was taken up in a whirl-wind after a chariot of fire with horses of fire appeared (2 Kings 2:9–11). In his distress at this sight, Elisha retrieved the mantle of Elijah that had been left behind and approached the Jordan River. Elisha then struck the water with the mantle as he cried out to the God of Elijah; the river divided again, and he crossed over (2 Kings 2:12–14). The sons of the prophets acknowledged Elisha’s status as a prophet of God when they declared, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha” (2 Kings 2:15).

Elisha prophesied during a dark time in Israel’s history, and God revealed His power, vali-dated Elisha’s position as prophet, and gave him the authority to per-form many miracles in His name. The Creator God used His prophet Elisha as a means of accomplish-ing His perfect plans on earth.

Elisha not only ministered to Israel, but was also called upon to spread God’s fame through-out the earth. We see this in the account of Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, a powerful Gentile nation. The Bible tells us that Naaman served as the chief commander to Ben-Hadad



and had won many battles by the hand of the Lord. But Naaman was a leper (2 Kings 5:1). If not for his status as commander, his power, and his wealth, this dis-ease would have caused him to be shunned by many.

Upon hearing through an Isra-elite servant girl about the prophet of God in Samaria, Naaman sought permission from his king to pursue the prophet’s heal-ing power (2 Kings 5:4–6). When Naaman approached Elisha’s house, the prophet sent a mes-senger to tell him to wash in the Jordan River seven times to be restored. Naaman became furious at the advice, too proud to oblige these humble, uncomplicated instructions (2 Kings 5:10–12). After some persuasion from his servants to follow the simple com-mand of the prophet, Naaman conceded. He dipped seven times in the Jordan, and his flesh was restored and made clean (2 Kings 5:14). God had healed the leprosy and had changed the heart of this foreigner to acknowledge the true God (2 Kings 5:15).

God used many people to influence Naaman and bring him to a realization of the true God who had the power to heal through such an apparently silly, simple act. God still uses imperfect people to accomplish His perfect plans. The New Testament confirms this as we read of Elijah in the book of James: “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed

earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit” (James 5:17–18).

You can trust that in your obedience the sovereign and omnipotent one is using you (despite your failings) in the lives of people around you to pro-claim His glory and to further the gospel of Jesus Christ.


The miracles of Elisha are often cited by skeptics to discredit the Bible as a source of author-ity. They question why God would send bears to kill a bunch of boys mocking a prophet (2 Kings 2:23–24). They don’t believe that throw-ing a stick in the water would make an axe head float (2 Kings 6:1–7), or that a poisonous pot of stew could be purified with a bit of flour (2 Kings 4:38–41), much less that a dead child could be raised to life by lying on top of him (2 Kings 4:8–37). But these doubters don’t know and fear the Creator and Sustainer of all things—the one true God. God used His prophets and their mir-acles to accomplish His purposes and to glorify His name among His people.

As we look at the laws deliv-ered to Israel by Moses, vari-ous forms of skin disease were referred to as leprosy, not just



the disease we call leprosy today (Leviticus 13–14). Consequently, we don’t know exactly what afflicted Naaman. We know it was clearly a skin disease classi-fied broadly as leprosy. Naaman’s leprosy appears to have been localized (2 Kings 5:11), and he had surely sought many cures in Syria. Upon his healing, Naaman knew that he had experienced a miracle at the hand of God. He was now clean.

If we are honest and look closely, we can easily connect Naaman’s leprosy to the lep-rosy that fills the heart of every human—sin. This disease has

separated us from God. We are unclean and can’t stand in His presence . . . unless He washes us. Those who receive Jesus Christ, believing in the cleans-ing and forgiveness offered to sin-ners through the death of Jesus, can rejoice at the freedom Christ offers. Like Naaman, those for-given through Christ no longer have to worry about the dis-ease that has tainted them since birth—but can stand before God, knowing they are clean from sin in Christ for all eternity.




STUDYING THE WORD

Studying God’s WordWhy is the gospel considered foolish by many?


2 Kings 2:1–18

Joshua 3:7–8

2 Kings 5:1–19

ACTIVITY–ADULT

Fully CleansedTh e account of God healing Naaman’s leprosy through Elisha has many ideas that run parallel to our New Testament understanding of salvation in Christ. Read the following descriptions of the modern response to the message of the gospel and describe their parallel in the account of Naaman.

1. Many people believe that the good things they do or the abilities they have will get them into heaven (Ephesians 2:8–9).

2. Many people get angry at the suggestion that their own eff orts or their own methods are not adequate to make them right with God (Matthew 5:20).



3. Many who hear the simple gospel message of repentance and faith view it as foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18–25).

4. People receive the message of the gospel through Christ’s messengers (2 Corinthians 5:20).

5. When a person repents and trusts in Christ’s work on his behalf, all of his sins are removed (Isaiah 1:18).

APPLY THE WORD

God’s Word in the Real World1. What have you learned, realized, or understood better about

God after studying this passage? What ideas do you need to continue to explore as a result of studying this passage?

2. How could you use the account of Naaman to help someone you know to understand the message of the gospel?

3. Many people use the miracles performed by Elisha to discredit the Bible. Ax heads don’t float in rivers. Flour doesn’t remove poison. Dipping in a river seven times doesn’t take away leprosy. How can you best respond to claims like these made against the Bible?

GROUP PRAYER TIME

Prayer Requests


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